Pewter

[WildmanJack]

I picked up 7 3/4 lbs of Pewter today off Ebay. Sometimes I wonder if I'mmelting down stuff worth more than the tin>>> Anyone have an opinion??

Jack
:cbpour:

[Longwood]

So far in my searches, I have found one piece that weighed a little over a pound for $3 and about 20 pieces that were priced much closer to $100.

[WildmanJack]

Longwood, I bought three pitchers, a couple of candle sticks a vase, and a small bowl off Flebay for $10.50 and the shipping was about the same. Guess I lucked out. Total weight was 7 3/4 lbs. after I cast it all into little ingots.. I was really cranked...
Jack

[lwknight]

Wildman , you did luck out. Most of that stuff is really thin and candlesticks are weighted with only a little pewter in the skin.

[fryboy]

smelting pewter with a conscious ... yes i have mulled it , some pieces have hysterical value ( ok ok historical if you must ) sometimes that value isnt easy to figure and more often than not harder to get , i have a small collection that i'll smelt only in desperation and hope i find more before i need too !! as you note from your Ebay purchases unless an item is really hot there's not alot of demand , wizards, dragons and the like i have no qualms melting and unless a really choice piece i wont even research it , belt buckles almost always say "limited edition # XXXX of XXXX" [shrugz] i would indeed feel awful if i realized i just smelted paul revere's last tankard or the like however , even some mangled stuff could be worth more than readily apparent , i suppose the line we draw will always be our own ...

[cajun shooter]

Hey Jack, My wife has a collection of Wilton Pewter. It is not pure pewter but a alloy of seven metals that is forged in Pa. It is very expensive with a plate selling for over $60. If you ever come across any of it, sell it as it is way too hard to smelt and is worth more to the collectors.The pure type of pewter is very easy to bend and my problem is when I find it, I don't know if it is valuable and like you posted, I may melt the wrong thing.

[imashooter2]

Wilton doesn't sell petwer at all. Their stuff is a proprietary blend of metals and not of any value to a boolit caster.

The stuff I buy from the local Goodwill is beat up trash, so I don't much worry about it being valuable.

For the OP, if you bought it from eBay, it wasn't worth more or there would have been someone to outbid you.

[mold maker]

I cast large slugs of all I find. Makes it easy to add small known amounts to the mix.

[bearcove]

I just buy tin or solder then I KNOW what it is. Pewter stuff is all over the place in composition.

[imashooter2]

I just buy tin or solder then I KNOW what it is. Pewter stuff is all over the place in composition.

I'm pleased that you are so prosperous!

I'll keep looking for cheap pewter when I can find it. I KNOW it is all close enough to add to boolit alloy as pure tin.

[littlejack]

The only WILTON stuff around here looks way too much like cast aluminium.
It is very easy to tell it from pewter.
Jack

[cajun shooter]

I am very aware of what Wilton sells and has. I have a few thousand dollars of it in my kitchen cabinets. I was posting to inform Jack who is a friend that many people call it pewter and to stay away from it.

[a.squibload]

If I'm sure it's pewter I don't ingotize it, just cut it up in pieces
to add to the pot.

[bearcove]

I'm pleased that you are so prosperous!

I'll keep looking for cheap pewter when I can find it. I KNOW it is all close enough to add to boolit alloy as pure tin.

Traded 50lbs of WW for 10lbs solder. The WW were free so that makes it cheaper than buying pewter.

[imashooter2]

Traded 50lbs of WW for 10lbs solder. The WW were free so that makes it cheaper than buying pewter.


I love to banter! :wink:

You traded WW worth $50 American for 10 pounds of what mix solder? 50/50, 63/37? Did it come on the reel or with certs? If not, how do you really know it is what it was represented to be?

[bearcove]

OK I'll play.

63/37

Traded with a member

[imashooter2]

$5 a pound for 63% tin makes my $3 or less a pound 80% or better tin seem like a pretty sweet deal. ;)

But at least a trade with a member gives you reasonable assurance that it actually is what you paid for. :kidding:

[lwknight]

Tin at $5.00 per pound is still cheap.

[imashooter2]

Tin at $5.00 per pound is still cheap.

Well, since it was only 63% tin, the per pound price was more like $7.93. And I doubt that 50 pounds of lead got to the solder trader for free, so better add on another $1.59 a pound for the flat rate box.

Now, you can still say that $9.52 a pound is better than commodity prices for virgin tin and you'd be right.

But $3.75 a pound for tin from scrounged pewter beats that price with a stick. :D

[bearcove]

You use that funny math.

Free WW plus $10 shipping got me almost 12lb of solder. That is about 7 lb tin with 4lb lead. And I didn't spend any gas money looking for it. Thats closer to $1.50/lb

[imashooter2]

You use that funny math.

Free WW plus $10 shipping got me almost 12lb of solder. That is about 7 lb tin with 4lb lead. And I didn't spend any gas money looking for it. Thats closer to $1.50/lb

Huh! Was ten, now 12. Either way...

You traded a commodity with worth for another commodity. The value of the transaction was the value of the commodities at time of the exchange plus cost of the transaction (postage). There isn't any other way to look at it.

FWIW, the thrift store is on my way home from work. I don't spend any gas money or postage.

[smilie=1:

[Longwood]

If I'm sure it's pewter I don't ingotize it, just cut it up in pieces
to add to the pot.

When I get a bunch of alloy, be it tin or Linotype etc. I smelt it and pour 1/4 pound ingots in the little condiment cups so I can add measured amounts to my casting pot.
It only takes a little time and it sure makes alloying quick and easy.

[mroliver77]

Sometimes it is like hanging out with high school girls the way some of you all argue! Sheesh!
J

[imashooter2]

Sometimes it is like hanging out with high school girls the way some of you all argue! Sheesh!
J

What have you got against a little banter? No one is calling names or getting their knickers in a knot. :lol:

[arkypete]

Hey Jack, My wife has a collection of Wilton Pewter. It is not pure pewter but a alloy of seven metals that is forged in Pa. It is very expensive with a plate selling for over $60. If you ever come across any of it, sell it as it is way too hard to smelt and is worth more to the collectors.The pure type of pewter is very easy to bend and my problem is when I find it, I don't know if it is valuable and like you posted, I may melt the wrong thing.

Cajun
My bride finds Wilton at Salvation Army and Good Will. We use the bowls as planters and the trays to set potted plants on.
The same bride is finding bunchs of pewter at the two mentioned above and at yard sales. She never pays more then $2.00 per piece.

Jim

[cajun shooter]

arkypete, I thank you if you felt that I was posting for places to purchase Wilton. I Have not purchased a piece in years. My wife has kin people that live in Pa. and at one time they would find us pieces for our collection. I would advise you to go onto E-Bay and key in Wilton Pewter. (It's not pewter but they call it that) They have soup bowls selling for $60 and more. Diner plates for $20 and above and serving trays for over $100. If your wife is buying it for $2, then you can make a lot of money to spend on casting.

[mold maker]

Sometimes it is like hanging out with high school girls the way some of you all argue! Sheesh!
J

Hey!!!!!! I'd love to hang out with high school girls again. It's been 50+ years and my memories are fading fast. Have you guys forgotten how much fun that was?????
Pewter and memories are both getting hard to find. The generation that used , and owned it are getting scarce too.
I used to pick up several pieces with each Thrift store visit. Now it's months between finds.

[Fugowii]

I was coming home from grocery shopping with the wife and there was a guy putting
stuff out on tables by the side of the road. It being Tuesday I thought it strange
for a yard sale in the middle of the day. I turned around and went back and the guy
is giving the stuff away! I picked up 8 1/2 pounds of free pewter! I'm going out to
play the lottery tonight...

Last week at a yard sale I picked up a five pound virgin lead ingot for fifty cents.

I'm on a roll!

[smilie=w:

[xfoxofshogo]

ok i was in a good will to day and found some thing that looks like pewter but its kind thick and hard
its cast its a milk and suger sever and olny marks are on the side and its a (pwp) USA on it and haevy is this a mix or pewter

[jsizemore]

ok i was in a good will to day and found some thing that looks like pewter but its kind thick and hard
its cast its a milk and suger sever and olny marks are on the side and its a (pwp) USA on it and haevy is this a mix or pewter

See if says RWP instead of pwp. It's usually in a circle. That stands for Real Wilton Pewter which ain't pewter. The thick hard stuff is usually Wilton Armetale.

[imashooter2]

Agreed. Thick, cast pieces are generally not pewter.

[xfoxofshogo]

ok thats what i was thinking and i did not see a rwp but it was a pwp in a circle and a i in a dimon o well i did not buy it i keep looking lot of junk to look at in the junk shops here

is ther a common stamp to look for for good stuff

[imashooter2]

Pewter:

http://home.comcast.net/~imashooter2/pictures/pewter600.jpg

Not pewter:

http://www.jrakar.com/sr7505/plate1.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee2/thinnen/tankard_2.jpg

[jsizemore]

ok thats what i was thinking and i did not see a rwp but it was a pwp in a circle and a i in a dimon o well i did not buy it i keep looking lot of junk to look at in the junk shops here

is ther a common stamp to look for for good stuff

Until you can identify pewter without touching it, stick with the stuff that has PEWTER stamped on the bottom.